Phoenix:
Scotty Scheffler repeated as PGA Phoenix Open champion after defeating Nick Taylor on the last nine Sundays and overtook Rory McIlroy for the world number one ranking.
It was the 26-year-old American’s first title since capturing last year’s Masters and surrendering to Northern Ireland’s McIlroy in October last year.
“It feels great,” Scheffler said.
In Sunday’s final round, Scheffler carded a six-under-par 65 to finish 72 holes in 19-under 265 at TPC Scottsdale to beat Taylor by two strokes for the $3.6 million top prize and his fifth career PGA title. .
“I’m just proud of how I fought,” sheffler Said. “I didn’t have my best stuff. I just grinded it out today.
“I wasn’t hitting it well off the tee. My irons didn’t feel as sharp. But I played a good round of golf.”
Spain’s third-ranked John Rahm, who had a chance to become world number one with a win, finished third on 270, after finishing 68 with two-time PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas on 271 and Australian Jason Day, the 2015 PGA Championship winner, was fifth at 272.
Scheffler became the seventh back-to-back Phoenix Open winner and the first repeat champion since Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama in 2017.
He joined McIlroy and Max Homma as the only players to successfully defend PGA titles so far this season.
Scheffler won his first PGA title at Phoenix last year and began an incredible two-month run at Bay Hill and WGC match-play before claiming his first major crown at Augusta National.
Taylor and Scheffler were deadlocked for the lead with six holes to play.
Scheffler reached the green in two on the par-5 13th and rolled in a clutch 22-foot eagle putt to reach 18-under, while Taylor responded with a seven-foot birdie putt and only a drift.
On the famous par-3 16th hole with 20,000 rowdy spectators in a stadium environment, Scheffler was booed for missing the green with a 9-iron and Taylor’s 8-iron drew boos for rolling to the left.
After relief from a grandstand, Scheffler holed out to 15 feet from the hole, while Taylor pitched to inside seven feet.
Scheffler rolled in a tense par putt to loud roars from the crowd, pumping his right fist in joy at the feat, while Taylor missed to the right of the hole moments later for his first bogey of the day with two holes remaining. Stumbled upon. ,
“It was a big put,” Scheffler said. “Definitely a lot of fun to see that one go in.”
Taylor had a horseshoe lip-out on a 16-foot birdie putt on the 17th, and Scheffler followed with a birdie tap-in from five feet inside to reach 19-under and lead by three. Taylor carded 18 birdies to shoot 65 but it only trimmed the final margin.
Scheffler, who started the final round with a two-stroke lead over Rahm and Taylor, holed a 10-foot birdie putt on the second and par-5 third.
But Taylor also jumped out early, dropping his approach on the first hole to inside four feet to set up a birdie putt and adding a 10-foot birdie putt on the third.
Taylor holed out from just inside 38 feet to birdie the sixth, then joined Scheffler in sinking a six-foot birdie putt at the ninth and tied the American with a three-foot birdie putt at 10. .
McIlroy shot a second straight 70 to finish at 280 and tie for 32nd.
Rickie Fowler aced the par-3 seventh hole with a 6-iron from 216 yards. It was the American’s first hole-in-one in a PGA event since 2015.